Houston, TX: The San Jacinto River Region

There is so much history surrounding the San Jacinto River, which runs through several counties of East Texas. However, most of this great river runs through sections of the Greater Houston Area. It is a magnificent area in which to live, so if you are considering moving to the Houston Area, here is some information about the San Jacinto River area and the great places the surround it. This blog will cover the Eastern banks of the river. Next time I will discuss the Western banks.

The mouth of the San Jacinto River opens onto and forms Galveston Bay. Before the river reaches the Bay, it joins up with Buffalo Bayou, which is the body of water that the Houston Ship Channel is built upon. Because of this connection to the Houston Ship Channel, many people are under the misconception that this area is strictly commercial. This is absolutely not true. There are many lovely wooded communities and parks along the San Jacinto River. The best part about the Eastern Banks of the San Jacinto River is that property values are extremely reasonable.

The first community on the East side of the river is Baytown. There are lovely houses and parks in Baytown. They are home to ExxonMobil which does a great job supporting the community. Along with jobs and fringe businesses to support the plant, they invest heavily in the region which really helps make Baytown a great community. Baytown's school district is called Goose Creek Consolidated ISD. Here are links to the City of Baytown and Goose Creek ISD, if you are interested in finding out more.

North from Baytown is Highlands. Highlands is an old-fashioned country-feel community that has a town center and many charming old homes on nice sized lots. The area is called Highlands because it is much higher than the San Jacinto River and it does not tend to flood when other places along the River might. Most of the kids that live in Highlands attend school in Baytown, but there are a few little neighborhoods that attend school in Deer Park ISD, which is across the Houston Ship Channel. Highlands has a grocery store and some restaurants and other small businesses. For more information on Highlands, TX, here is a link: Highlands City Data

North from Highlands is Barrett Station. Barrett Station is a historical community along the banks of the San Jacinto River that was originally settled by freed slaves. There is a rich cultural heritage to Barrett Station and besides houses; Barrett Station has some great churches. There is a wide variety of properties available in Barrett Station. The students that live in Barrett Station attend school in Crosby ISD, which is listed below. Click here for more on Barrett Station.

Floating upstream to the next community on the East side of the San Jacinto River is Crosby, TX. Crosby is an unincorporated town site located North of Hwy 90. They have their own little award winning school district, Crosby ISD. There are stores and businesses, and a couple of car dealers in Crosby. Crosby has several impressive deed restricted communities. There are also lots of homes on acreage available. The thing about Crosby is that is it a country type community but not far from the "big city". The largest deed restricted community in Crosby is Newport . The largest crop grown in the Crosby, East San Jacinto River area is grass farms. Crosby seems to be the center of the grass farm movement in East Harris County. To find out more about Crosby and the many subdivisions, look here, at Alliance Properties, or city data and for their school district, click here: Crosby ISD .

The River is dammed in the Crosby area, which creates Lake Houston. Some of the communities on the Eastern Banks of Lake Houston include Lake Shadows, Indian Shores and Commons on Lake Houston. These are all deed restricted neighborhoods that have a variety of houses. They have larger than average lots, from 1/3 an acre to 5+ acres. There are many lake-front lots, and many more on deep-cut boat cannels. Parts of Indian Shores, and all of Spanish Cove and the Commons of Lake Houston are in the Huffman school district. Huffman is a great little "town" with a medium sized 3A high school and some nice stores and restaurants.

This region of Texas is Simi-tropical and not what most people imagine when they think of Texas. The gardening zones are 9B-8B, depending on how close your house is to the water. Many tropical house plants grow great here is this region as landscape plantings. The climate would be a bit "upside down" to what most people are used to. We stay inside (or in the pool) during the heat of the summer. It is usually just too hot and humid. However, from the middle of September through the middle of June, the weather is excellent. The average daily highs are around 780 F, and night temps of about 60O F for a most of the fall, winter and spring. When it does get cold, it rarely lasts for more than 4-5 days.

The Piney Woods of East Texas used to start on the Eastern banks of the San Jacinto River. There are still many old-wood trees left. We just built around them. Deer and other wildlife are commonly seen roaming the banks of the river. It is a very short drive to get to the country from the Eastern banks of this river. The last rural stance of land in Harris County is in the Highlands/Crosby/Huffman area. That won't last much longer, because the there are lots of new houses being built.

Come check it out. Take a driving tour up FM 2100 and drive through some of the neighborhoods. You will be impressed! Stop by my office while you're out and have a cup of coffee.

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